Matthew Barzun's challenge as ambassador to UK

2:22 PM,
Jul. 12, 2013

Matthew Barzun

Written by

Stuart Young | Special to The Courier-Journal

As Matthew Barzun likely has noticed, the British media can be far from kind. Although there was positive coverage of his nomination as ambassador to the United Kingdom, some media pundits made snide, personal remarks, and others dismissed it as mere patronage for his stellar campaign fundraising, noting Barzun's socioeconomic background in no way mirrors that of President Barack Obama.

It's easy to see why Brits would view such appointments as tainted. British ambassadors to the United States are career diplomats with decades of experience, and the Brits disdain the huge sums of money ...